Sunday, 23 November 2014

Mumbai to Gangtok

DAY 1
– MUMBAI – BAGDOGRA – GANGTOK

After
packing loads of warm clothes for Sikkim, we started our day early. Pramod,
Preeti and Taashi (they stay in Dombivili) took off for the airport at 4:30 am
(Nikhil and I got up at that time, considering we stay in Andheri ;) which is
close to the airport).

Himalayas from the flight

We
had an early morning 7:00 o’clock Indigo flight to catch. With a halt at
Guwahati for half an hour we were in Bagdogra by noon. Bagdogra is the nearest
airport to Sikkim (It lies in West Bengal though).

Sikkim Manipal University

First sight of Teesta River

From
Bagdogra our next stop was Gangtok. We had not pre booked any taxi. To go to
Gangtok you have two options – book a cab from the prepaid counter at the exit
of the airport or hunt for a cab yourself. If you book a cab from the prepaid
counter the rates are fixed, you can’t negotiate the price. Also, these cab
drop you at the taxi stand in Gangtok. They don’t drop you at your hotel. From
the taxi stand you have to hop into another cab and go to the hotel.

River Teesta

If
you look for a cab yourself, negotiate the rate with him in such a way that he
drops you to your hotel directly. This will save you from the hassle of taking
another cab to your hotel, shifting luggage from one car to another.

Rocky Mountains

You
should remember one thing in Gangtok – it has timings for the SUVs. The city
has many one way rules for the SUVs.

At
12.30 pm, we took an Innova from Bagdogra to Gangtok for Rs 2,700. From the
airport you have to cross the city of Siliguri to head to Sikkim. The road was
good with very slow moving traffic.

Muddy Roads

Once
we were on the outskirt of the city and the curvy roads were about to start we
stopped over at a small restaurant for Lunch – New Gautam. The food was good
and reasonably priced.

Post
lunch we started with the first of the many subsequent rides on curvy narrow
roads of the Himalayas. It was a beautiful scenic drive along the River Teesta.

En route Gangtok

The
major part of the first day was travelling. From Mumbai Airport to Guwahati
Airport to Bagdogra Airport and then spending time on the road from Bagdogra to
Gangtok, but the excitement of reaching Gangtok overcame the fatigue of the
travel.

Welcome to Sikkim

After
about 5 hours drive, we arrived at our hotel – Hotel Pandim, a cosy guesthouse
away from the hustle bustle of the Gangtok City. It was cold and everyone had taken out
their sweaters, jackets and shawls. One should remember that the sun sets early
in this corner of the world and it is pitch dark by 5:00 pm. So you should gear
up to start your day early and end your day early.

Road to Gangtok

We
had booked for two deluxe rooms but the hotel has upgraded one to Super Deluxe. The hotel rooms had wall to
wall carpet, TV with cable connection, geyser and all the basic amenities. The
Super Deluxe room had a balcony with a wonderful view of the mountains and the
city.

We
had our dinner in the hotel itself as we were quite tired and were not in the
mood to move out of the hotel. We had a nice dinner at the hotel’s restaurant
located on the top floor offering spectacular view of Gangtok City at night.

Post
dinner we all headed to our respective rooms to crash – to get ready for the
excursion to Nathula Pass, Baba Mandir and Tsongmo Lake the next day.

Please note:

1. Carry a warm jacket or a sweater. Bagdogra will not be cold but by the time you reach Gangtok it is dark and cold.

2. Gangtok from Bagdogra is just 120 kms but it takes 5 hours approx to cover this distance because of rough terrain, narrow and curvy roads.

3. The sun sets early here. It is dark by 5:00 pm. Therefore, don't waste too much time in Siliguri or Bagdogra. One should try to reach Gangtok early.

4. There are not many places to eat once you start climbing the mountains. Therefore, it is recommended to have your lunch in the outskirts of Siliguri and buy some packaged water.